Let’s say you’ve been a Project Manager for many years and moved on to the next “job” in project management to become a Agile PM/ScrumMaster. But, instead of a “job” you found a calling and you not only like the agile world, you love it. That’s what happened to Padmini Nidumolu.

After a few years as a practicing Agile PM/ScrumMaster, Padmini’s natural question was, “How do I get to do more of this agile thing that I love?” Over time, her question shifted to, “How do I become a really good Agile Coach?” which is when we sat down together to explore the question and offer some answers.

Here’s a guide book to the conversation:

1:50 Padmini says: “I found various websites and various certification bodies. There are a lot of options out there, CSP, CSM — it’s like a potpourri of alphabets which really don’t make sense to everyone. I want to learn a methodical approach for how I can work myself up from being a CSM all the way to Agile Coach.”

In Lyssa’s answer, learn about:

An Agile Coaching learning path which is separate from certifications, but participates with various certifications.

How the Learning Path is transparent, and shows how to progress from level to level without it being a big mystery.

3:51 Lyssa runs down the certifications available at Scrum Alliance to develop one’s self as an Agile Coach and how Agile Coaching Institute’s courses contribute to those.

5:30 Padmini asks: “With ACI being accredited with Scrum Alliance, does that put us well on our way to become a CST and a CSC?” In Lyssa’s answer, learn about the difference between CST and CSC and how that relates to coaching courses.

7:03 Lyssa runs down the certifications available at ICAgile and how they work.

ICAgile gives you the materials you will be scored on when you go for the ICAgile Expert certification.

Even if you don’t care about certifications, the materials for the ICAgile Expert gate tell you what level of skill and competence is expected, so you can use it to develop yourself.

Video 2 starts with Padmini’s question: “What can we expect in your classes and what beyond what ACI offers is needed to fill the gap at ScrumAlliance or ICAgile?”

In Lyssa’s answer, learn about:

How the Coaching Agile Teams class and The Agile Facilitator class cover all the agile coaching learning objectives.

How you can take them separately and in a bootcamp format.

How you can get close the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world competence through ACI’s mentoring program, and how the mentoring program builds your competence with skill drills and scored supervisions.

3:30 Padmini asks: “Does ACI provide any certification?”

In Lyssa’s answer, learn about:

ACI’s competence-based certification after taking the classes and mentoring program.

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